1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape feeder and, more particularly, to a tape feeder including an electronic component accommodating part installed at one side of a tape feeder main body to accommodate electronic components which are not picked up by a suction nozzle of an electronic component conveyance robot installed at an electronic component mounting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an electronic component mounting device, referred to as a chip mounter, is an automated device used to mount electronic components such as semiconductor chips at a predetermined position on a printed circuit board. The various kinds of electronic components used in the electronic component mounting device can be supplied in various ways, and may be surface-mounted on the printed circuit board using a suction nozzle operated by a robot.
Electronic components can be supplied in various ways depending on an operational environment and characteristics of the electronic components. For example, when the electronic components are relatively large, the electronic components can be loaded on a tray and mounted on the printed circuit board. However, when the electronic components are small, it may be difficult to load the electronic components on the tray and mount the same on the printed circuit board.
In particular, when very small electronic components are mounted, since the electronic components may be frequently lost or damaged during operation, a specifically designed tape feeder may be used. A tape reel, on which a carrier tape is wound, is mounted on the tape feeder. Certain sizes of electric components are accommodated in the carrier tape at predetermined intervals. The tape feeder releases the carrier tape from the tape reel at predetermined intervals, and simultaneously removes a cover tape covering the electronic components attached to the carrier tape. The suction nozzle of the conveyance robot sucks the electronic components, with the cover tape being removed, to remove the electronic components from the carrier tape, and conveys the electronic components to a predetermined position on the printed circuit board.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrated is a conventional carrier tape 1 that includes a base tape 2, and a plurality of accommodating spaces 3 sequentially formed on the base tape 2 in a longitudinal direction thereof. The accommodating spaces 3 are maintained in a sealed state by the cover tape 5 until a semiconductor chip 4 is supplied to an electronic component mounting device. A plurality of conveyance holes 6 are formed along both sides of the base tape 2 in a longitudinal direction thereof.
In the conventional feeder 10, certain sizes of semiconductor chips 4 are accommodated on the carrier tape 1, and the tape reel, on which the carrier tape 1 is wound, is mounted on one side of the tape feeder main body 11. A sprocket 13 is rotatably installed at another side of the tape feeder main body 11 by an air cylinder (not shown). Teeth 14 meshed with the conveyance holes 6 are formed at an outer periphery of the sprocket 13. The teeth 14 are inserted into the conveyance holes 6 to convey the carrier tape 1 at predetermined pitches. The tape feeder 10 rotates the tape reel 12 to release the carrier tape 1 wound on the tape reel 12, and at the same time, removes the cover tape 5 covering the semiconductor chip 4 attached to the carrier tape 1. The cover tape 5 which is removed is collected into a cover tape collection part 15, and the teeth 14 of the sprocket 13 are sequentially inserted into the conveyance holes of the carrier tape 1.
The suction nozzle of the conveyance robot installed at the chip mounter (not shown) sucks the semiconductor chip 4, from which the cover tape 5 is removed, to remove the semiconductor chip 4 from the carrier tape 1, and conveys it to a predetermined position on the printed circuit board (not shown).
In the conventional tape feeder, when the suction nozzle of the chip mounter fails to pick up the semiconductor chip of the carrier tape (that is, a pick-up miss occurs), the semiconductor chip should be conveyed with a waste tape and discharged to the exterior of the feeder at a certain time.
However, when it is not possible for the semiconductor chip to be discharged to the exterior of the tape feeder, thereby clogging progress of the carrier tape, the semiconductor chips may be stacked on a feeder base and a feeder attach/detach rail, on which the tape feeder is mounted, thus creating operational difficulties and causing misalignment of a pick-up position of the semiconductor chip, thereby contaminating an operational environment.
As a result, the semiconductor chip cannot be smoothly supplied, and further, the operational process may be delayed or stopped.